FEBRUARY 10, 2018
Turkey’s interference in Cyprus’ energy plan is expected to increase following new discoveries in Cyprus’ EEZ, Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides said on Saturday in the wake of harassment reports of a drillship on Friday by Turkish navy vessels.
In statements to public broadcaster CyBC, Kasoulides said the Turkish vessels that had harassed Italian giant ENI’s ‘Saipem 12000’ drillship had forced the captain to manoeuvre out of their way and eventually come to a stop 15 nautical miles from the ‘Soupia’ (Cuttlefish) Block 3 plot, to which it was heading. ENI on Thursday announced promising findings in Block 6 of Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
TEKMOR Note: It's about time Turkey realized that Cypriot EEZ is EU EEZ; it's no longer a cat chasing mouse game in and around Cyprus; there's a dog present.
Kasoulides said the ENI drillship remained in the same spot overnight on Friday and that the Turkish ships were still conducting illegal exercises in the Cypriot EEZ. New reports later on Saturday said the Saipem would reach the Soupia field later on Saturday night.
“Italy’s and Cyprus’ foreign ministries are in constant contact,” Kasoulides said, adding that the government was also in contact with ENI’s main offices in Rome about the situation.
He added that when the harassment began, ENI had told the captain of the Saipem not to turn back and to stay in place. The solution to the issue would come from Rome and the Italian government, the outgoing foreign minister said.
The Cyprus government has also notified the EU of the Turkish vessels’ interference in the Saipem 12000’s journey towards Block 3.
On Friday, citing government sources, CyBC said that similar tactics had been carried out in the past, but Friday’s harassment had been stepped up a notch with three vessels circling the Saipem.
Turkey is laying claim to parts of various blocks in Cyprus’ EEZ saying the areas in question form part of its continental shelf.
On February 6 Turkish authorities issued a notice to mariners (FA78-0198), reserving for ‘military training’ a vast area encompassing virtually the whole of the island’s southern waters.
The reserved area covers Cyprus’ block 3 and the Turkish Navtex will be in force on February 18 – at the same time that the drillship leased by ENI was to begin operating in the area.
In response, Cyprus issued its own Navtex (NR 074/18) advising seafarers that the Turkish notice constitutes ‘unauthorised and illegal activity in the exclusive economic zone, the continental shelf and the search and rescue region of the Republic of Cyprus’.
“This action is illegal, constitutes a violation of international law, affects maritime safety procedures and is also a criminal offence under the laws of the Republic of Cyprus.”
In turn, Turkey issued a new Navtex (0202/18) in a bid to countermand the Cypriot one.
It read: “The ‘Cyprus’ mentioned in Larnaca Navwarn NR 074/18 is not the original partnership state established in 1960.”
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